The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, defended the recent hike in passport fees on Friday, explaining that the increase was around 45%.

He linked this adjustment to fluctuations in the exchange rate between the dollar and the naira. In August, the Nigerian Immigration Service had announced a revision of the fees for Nigerian Standard Passports.

Under the new pricing structure, the fee for a 32-page passport booklet with a five-year validity rose from N35,000 to N50,000, while the cost for a 64-page passport booklet with a ten-year validity increased from N70,000 to N100,000.

This fee increase has led to disappointment among many Nigerians, who have accused the government of making migration more costly.

However, during a media briefing in Abuja to commemorate his first year in office, the minister stated that the government is unable to subsidize passport fees for citizens. He also noted that the fee increase does not apply to Nigerians residing abroad.

Tunji-Ojo explained, “The increase in passport fees is a matter of cost-benefit analysis, especially when considering the exchange rate between the dollar and the naira. If the government were to subsidise anything, I don’t think it should be passports. The increase is just from N35,000 to N50,000 — only about 45%. There has been no increase for Nigerians abroad.”

He emphasized that the government was not taking advantage of Nigerians but was merely addressing the expenses associated with passport procurement.

Tunji-Ojo also indicated that Nigerians living abroad, especially in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, would soon experience a more streamlined process for obtaining passports.

“We are going to pre-launch these automated systems very soon. By October, they will be fully operational. In London, for instance, we have 16,000 Nigerians applying for passports, while the capacity of our systems at the Embassy is about 200.

“But now that we have this system in place, Nigerians will no longer need to undertake multiple journeys across the world to acquire a passport.”

The minister shared that all passport backlogs have been successfully resolved, and the Nigeria Immigration Service has fulfilled its financial obligations to its service providers responsible for passport printing and supply.

“We now have about 80,000 passports in stock, including both the 32-page and 64-page booklets,” he added.